On the other note, my females live inside. During their heat cycles, they are very clean. They'll clean themselves a lot... I don't know if it's instinct or they don't like their area ' dirty'. I've never used diapers though.
(If I didn't pay close attention, I wouldn't even know if they had their cycle.)

Usually, the only time I might see a couple of drops of blood is after they've been laying down and first get up. It's generally not much and easy to wipe up.

So you don't put diapers on them at all? I'm always worrying about anything liquid (blood, urine, etc) soaking into my carpet and the pad underneath.

No, never have used a diaper.
IMO, She probably is trying to clean herself. I Was amazed at how clean my females are. All of them were that way.
If I put a diaper on any of them, they'd rip it off to get 'there' and lick themselves.

For me, the few drops I see are usually just after she's rested and they land on the top of a surface...I've never had a 'soaking'. I just watch them when they first get up and use Clorox wipes .
If it was to get in the carpet a little, you could clean it with a soapy washcloth... or whatever you'd do if you cut your finger and bled a little on the carpet. JMO.

So you don't put diapers on them at all? I'm always worrying about anything liquid (blood, urine, etc) soaking into my carpet and the pad underneath.

Is this her first heat??

For both of my intact females, their first heat was by far the messiest, but I gave them more than enough opportunity to clean themselves, and by the second heat, I only saw a few drops here and there, which were easily cleaned with a lysol/clorox wipe.

As for carpet (I have laminate throughout with area rugs), during her heat either lay a door rug (with the rubber backing) over a portion of your rug and teach her to stay on it, or have a washable bed that she has only during this time that she has to stay on while inside.

Between that, the crate and outside time, she should be fine for the 21-28 days that a heat lasts.

I have never used a diaper and I never will, they sound like way more work than just managing the dog for a month!

There's a lot bigger chance of her getting a pyo (infection of the uterus) than getting incontinent. Also bigger chance of mammary tumors (cancer).
Combined with the issues you're having now with the bleeding, if I were you I'd opt for a spay

Agreed!!

I don't know where you got the 15% figure from, but there's no way that 15% of females become incontinent because of a spay. It might be 1.5%. I personally have seen zero cases.

Pyometra is what scares me the most. I have seen a number of older intact bitches come in with pyo, which can be fatal.

Another reason we decided not to spay...daily incontinence and carpet don't mix. If she becomes incontinent, trying to keep a diaper on her all the time would be much worse than a couple of weeks twice a year. Do they make plastic pants for dogs similar to those used on babies over cloth diapers? I can keep her away from my other dogs when in the house, but I need to keep her from being able to remove the diaper or chew up the pad.

My GSD was a shelter dog. The shelter vet spayed her, but did not get everything. She had to be re-spayed a few years later, after exploratory surgery revealed the problem.

In spite of "both" spays, my girl NEVER had bladder incontinence. She lived for 14.5 years. Now, the last few years of her life, my girl had DM. She started having poo accidents, because she did not know she had to go.

Any senior dog may be likely to have incontinence issues of one kind or another - not related to being spayed. I hope you are prepared for old age.

Once you get your carpet removed, she should be just fine without a diaper if your males are neutered. I need to use a diaper on my girl because my male is intact so it's my back up even though she's always with me. I'm just lucky that she doesn't mind it. It's a pink diaper so it looks cute on her (make's it worth the work). If this is your females first heat, the next one should be much lighter (In my experience anyway).

While you have carpet, laying down a rug or a bed like N Smith is a great idea, or/and bring her crate into the main living area and give her lots of chews, so she still feels like she's with you guys and can keep herself clean. I did that for my females first heat and she definitely didn't mine the abundance of bones and bully sticks.

I don't know where you got the 15% figure from, but there's no way that 15% of females become incontinent because of a spay. It might be 1.5%. I personally have seen zero cases.

Pyometra is what scares me the most. I have seen a number of older intact bitches come in with pyo, which can be fatal.

That's what I read. Plus when I went to the pet store to get the new diaper to try, one of the ladies that works there told me her dog became incontinent after being spayed. Still, pyo sounds pretty scary.

Any senior dog may be likely to have incontinence issues of one kind or another - not related to being spayed. I hope you are prepared for old age.

This is true. We have 3 senior girls here, all spayed, no incontinence.
The OP has small kids (or at least one, I believe) which would further increase the need to keep things somewhat tidy(?).

Another issue you may not have thought of, is your neutered males can tie with her, increasing the risk for injury as well, to one or both dogs should that occur.
Not to mention all the neighborhood boys who are going to be gravitating to your home when she's in heat.

Quote:

one of the ladies that works there told me her dog became incontinent after being spayed

Pretty rare, still.
Tons of us on here have spayed girls not incontinent.

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